The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria has commenced the divestment of its interests in telecommunications, positioning NTEL for new strategic investors after undertaking what it described as a major transformation of the former national carrier’s assets.
AMCON Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Gbenga Alade, disclosed this during an interactive session with senior media executives in Lagos, saying the corporation was seeking to maximise value from the legacy telecommunications assets while advancing its asset recovery mandate.
The move comes shortly after AMCON completed the divestment of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, marking another phase in the disposal of distressed assets acquired following Nigeria’s banking crisis.
Alade said NTEL, the successor to the defunct Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, had undergone a comprehensive three-pronged transformation programme designed to reposition the company as an attractive investment destination for world-class investors.
According to him, the exercise is aimed at strengthening the company’s operational competitiveness, enhancing its market value and ensuring its long-term sustainability under new ownership.
“The repositioning effort is designed to maximise value, strengthen operational competitiveness and prepare the business for long-term sustainability under new investment,” Alade said.
He expressed confidence that the transformation of NTEL represented a significant milestone in the revival of the country’s legacy telecommunications assets, adding that the company’s management had laid a solid foundation for future growth.
“The remarkable transformation of NTEL is poised to become one of AMCON’s most notable success stories in the telecommunications sector. We have full confidence in the Board and Management of NTEL/NATCOM as they continue to demonstrate experience, innovation, diligence and commitment towards positioning this Nigerian-owned company to compete favourably with its peers both locally and internationally,” he added.
Alade said further details of the divestment programme would be released as key milestones are achieved, stressing that the exercise would be conducted through a transparent and structured process to attract credible strategic investors.
He noted that the planned sale aligns with AMCON’s statutory mandate of maximising value from distressed assets while supporting economic growth and strengthening confidence in Nigeria’s financial system.
The AMCON chief also disclosed that the corporation significantly improved its recovery performance in the first half of the year, recovering about ₦165bn between January and June, compared with ₦107bn during the corresponding period of 2025.
The recovery, he said, represents a 64 per cent increase, while AMCON maintained a cost-to-recovery ratio of 2.3 per cent, reflecting greater operational efficiency.
On the legal front, Alade announced that the corporation recently secured what he described as a landmark Supreme Court judgment expected to strengthen debt recovery efforts.
He said the apex court affirmed that the AMCON Act constitutes a special legal regime requiring purposive interpretation because the corporation was established to resolve the systemic banking crisis that followed the 2008 financial turmoil.
According to him, the judgment also confirmed that AMCON is exempt from paying stamp duties and possesses the statutory authority to dispose of collateral assets, regardless of the size of an obligor’s indebtedness, in enforcing its rights and recovering outstanding debts.
“While we celebrate this landmark judgment and several other legal successes, we are not resting on our oars. We remain mindful of the various tactics employed by recalcitrant obligors to frustrate the Corporation’s operations,” he said.
Responding to calls for the winding up of AMCON, Alade alleged that many of those advocating the corporation’s closure were debtors attempting to frustrate ongoing recovery efforts.
He maintained that decisions on AMCON’s sunset remain the exclusive responsibility of its board and the Central Bank of Nigeria, adding that the corporation remains focused on recovering debts owed on behalf of Nigerians.
Alade also said AMCON had strengthened collaboration with debt recovery agents, solicitors and receiver managers through regular engagements and capacity-building programmes to improve enforcement of the AMCON Act.
He added that the corporation had reviewed the commission structure for debt recovery partners in response to prevailing economic realities, expressing confidence that the enhanced incentives would support stronger recovery performance in the months ahead.
